View source for UMkhonto weSizwe

{{Short description|Armed wing of the African National Congress}}
{{About|the former military wing of the ANC|the political party|uMkhonto weSizwe (political party)}}{{other uses|UMkhonto we Sizwe (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{lowercase title}}
{{Use South African English|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name             = uMkhonto weSizwe
| logo             = Umkhonto_weSizwe_(MK)_logo.svg
| founder          = [[Nelson Mandela]]
| leaders          = {{bulleted list|[[Nelson Mandela]]|[[Oliver Tambo]]|[[Walter Sisulu]]|[[Govan Mbeki]]|[[Joe Slovo]]|[[Lennox Lagu]]|[[Joe Modise]]|[[Chris Hani]]|[[Raymond Mhlaba]]|[[Moses Mabhida]]|[[Ronnie Kasrils]]|[[Isaac Lesiba Maphotho]]|[[Siphiwe Nyanda]]|[[Godfrey Ngwenya]]}}
| active           = 1961–1993
| merged_into      = {{flag icon|RSA|military}} [[South African National Defence Force|SANDF]]
| allegiance       = {{flagicon image|Flag of the African National Congress.svg}} [[African National Congress|ANC]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the South African Communist Party.svg}} [[South African Communist Party|SACP]]
| allies           = {{flagcountry|Algeria}}<br>{{flagcountry|Angola}}<br>{{flagcountry|Cuba}}<br>{{flagcountry|Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|name=Libya}}<br>{{flagcountry|People's Republic of Mozambique|name=Mozambique}}<br>{{flagcountry|North Korea}}<br>
{{flagdeco|Palestine}} [[Palestine Liberation Organisation]]<br>[[SWAPO]] (Until 1990) <br>{{flagcountry|Namibia}} (From 1990)<br>{{flagcountry|Soviet Union}} (Until 1991)<br>{{flagcountry|Sweden}}<br>{{flagcountry|United Arab Republic}} (Until 1970)<br>{{flagcountry|Zimbabwe}}
| opponents        = {{flagcountry|South Africa|1928}}<br/>{{flagcountry|Rhodesia}}<br>{{Flagicon image|Flag of UNITA.svg}} [[UNITA]]<br>{{Flagicon image|Flag of RENAMO.svg}} [[RENAMO]]<br>{{flagcountry|Portugal}} [[Carnation revolution|(Until 1974)]]
| war              = [[Angolan Civil War]]<br/>[[South African Border War]]<br/>[[Rhodesian Bush War]]<br/>[[Internal resistance to apartheid]]
| designated_as_terror_group_by = {{flagcountry|South Africa|1928}} (until 1994)
}}
{{Apartheid|expanded=organisations}}
'''uMkhonto weSizwe''' ({{IPA-xh|um̩ˈkʰonto we ˈsizwe}}; abbreviated '''MK'''; [[English language|English]]: ''Spear of the Nation'') was the paramilitary wing of the [[African National Congress]] (ANC), founded by [[Nelson Mandela]] in the wake of the [[Sharpeville massacre]]. Its mission was to fight against the South African government to bring an end to its [[Apartheid|racist policies]].<ref name=mk>{{cite web|url=http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/manifesto-mk.html|title=Manifesto of Umkhonto we Sizwe|publisher=[[African National Congress]]|date=16 December 1961|access-date=30 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061217090228/http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/manifesto-mk.html|archive-date=17 December 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

After warning the South African government in June [[1961 in South Africa|1961]] of its intent to increase resistance if the government did not take steps toward constitutional reform and increase political rights, uMkhonto weSizwe launched its first attacks against government installations on 16 December 1961. The group was subsequently classified as a [[List of designated terrorist groups|terrorist organisation]] by the South African government, and banned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anc.org.za/themes.php?t=Umkhonto%20we%20Sizwe|title=The African National Congress website – Umkhonto we Sizwe|access-date=21 January 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220033111/http://anc.org.za/themes.php?t=Umkhonto%20we%20Sizwe|archive-date=20 February 2015}}</ref>

For a time it was headquartered in [[Rivonia]], which was rural at that time but is now an affluent suburb of [[Johannesburg]]. On 11 July 1963, nineteen ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe leaders, including [[Arthur Goldreich]], [[Govan Mbeki]] and [[Walter Sisulu]], were arrested at [[Liliesleaf Farm]], Rivonia. (The farm was privately owned by Arthur Goldreich and bought with [[South African Communist Party]] and ANC funds, as non-whites were unable to own a property in that area under the [[Group Areas Act]].) The arrests were followed by the [[Rivonia Trial]], in which ten leaders of the ANC were tried for 221 militant acts that the prosecution said were designed to "foment violent revolution". [[Wilton Mkwayi]], chief of uMkhonto weSizwe at the time, escaped during the trial.

The organisation was formally disbanded in a ceremony at [[Orlando Stadium]] in [[Soweto|Soweto, Gauteng]], on 16 December 1993, although its armed struggle had been suspended earlier, during the [[Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa|negotiations to end apartheid]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lissoni |first=Arianna |date=22 December 2021 |title=Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK): The ANC's Armed Wing, 1961–1993 |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-1098 |access-date=2022-11-16 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.1098|isbn=978-0-19-027773-4 }}</ref>

==Motivations for formation==
According to [[Nelson Mandela]], all of the founding members of the uMkhonto weSizwe, including himself, were also members of the ANC. In his "[[I Am Prepared to Die]]" speech, delivered at the conclusion of the [[Rivonia Trial]], Mandela outlined the motivations that led to the formation of uMkhonto weSizwe:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=3430|title=Nelson Mandela's Statement from the Dock at the Rivonia Trial|website=African National Congress|access-date=21 January 2015|archive-date=20 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320024433/http://anc.org.za/show.php?id=3430|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<blockquote>At the beginning of June 1961, after a long and anxious assessment of the South African situation, I, and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in this country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for African leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force.

This conclusion was not easily arrived at. It was only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protest had been barred to us, that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle, and to form uMkhonto weSizwe. We did so not because we desired such a course, but solely because the government had left us with no other choice. In the Manifesto of uMkhonto published on 16 December 1961, which is exhibit AD, we said:
<blockquote>The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices – submit or fight. That time has now come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means in our power in defence of our people, our future, and our freedom.</blockquote>

Firstly, we believed that as a result of Government policy, violence by the African people had become inevitable, and that unless responsible leadership was given to canalise and control the feelings of our people, there would be outbreaks of terrorism which would produce an intensity of bitterness and hostility between the various races of this country which is not produced even by war. Secondly, we felt that without violence there would be no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle against the principle of white supremacy. All lawful modes of expressing opposition to this principle had been closed by legislation, and we were placed in a position in which we had either to accept a permanent state of inferiority, or take over the Government. We chose to defy the law. We first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence; when this form was legislated against, and then the Government resorted to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we decide to answer with violence.</blockquote>

The [[manifesto]] referred to by Mandela, adduced by the prosecution at his trial as Exhibit AD,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historicalpapers.wits.ac.za/?inventory_enhanced/U/Collections&c=210586/R/AD1844-A5-2|title=State vs Nelson Mandela and 9 Others (Rivonia Trial), Alphabetical Exhibits List|publisher=University of the Witwatersrand|access-date=11 March 2016}}</ref> included the statements: 
<blockquote>Our men are armed and trained freedom fighters not "terrorists". We are fighting for democracy—majority rule—the right of the Africans to rule Africa.  We are fighting for a South Africa in which there will be peace and harmony and equal rights for all people. We are not racialists, as the white oppressors are. The African National Congress has a message of freedom for all who live in our country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://public.wsu.edu/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/umkhonto.html |title=Paul Brians |publisher=Public.wsu.edu |access-date=29 April 2013}}</ref></blockquote>
The aim was to act only against [[Soft target|hard targets]] such as power pylons and avoid any injury or loss of life.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldberg |first1=Denis |title=A Life for Freedom |date=2016 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn =9780813166858 |page =66}}</ref>

==Command structure (1961–1964)==
{{Section citations needed|date=June 2024}}
In the six or so months between making the decision to form the organisation (June) and the first acts of sabotage (December), the MK high command set up regional commands in the main centres. The people chosen to be part of these commands were chosen either because they had the necessary technical or military skills or because they were members of Congress Alliance organisations.

===Central (overall) command===
*[[Nelson Mandela]]
*[[Walter Sisulu]]
*[[Joe Slovo]]
*[[Raymond Mhlaba]] (from 1962)
*[[Wilton Mkwayi]] (from 1963)

===Johannesburg (later Transvaal) command===
*[[Jack Hodgson (uMkhonto weSizwe)|Jack Hodgson]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Percy John "Jack" Hodgson {{!}} South African History Online |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/percy-john-jack-hodgson |access-date=2022-11-24 |website=www.sahistory.org.za}}</ref>
*[[Ahmed Kathrada]]
*[[Denis Goldberg]]
*[[Arthur Goldreich]]

===Natal command===
*[[Curnick Ndlovu]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Curnick Muzuvukile Ndlovu {{!}} South African History Online |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/curnick-muzuvukile-ndlovu |access-date=2023-01-17 |website=www.sahistory.org.za}}</ref>
*[[Ronnie Kasrils]] (from 1963)

===Western Cape command===
*[[Looksmart Ngudle]]
*[[Fred Carneson]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fred Carneson {{!}} South African History Online |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/fred-carneson |access-date=2023-01-17 |website=www.sahistory.org.za}}</ref>

===Eastern Cape command===
*[[Vuyisile Mini]]

===Border command===
*[[Washington Bongco]]

===Explosives command===
*[[Jack Hodgson (uMkhonto weSizwe)|Jack Hodgson]]<ref name="auto"/>
*[[Harold Strachan]] (from 1962)

===Ex-officio commanders===
*[[Lambert Moloi]] (from 1964)
*[[Joe Modise]] (from 1964)
*[[Tom Sebina]] (from 1964)

==Domestic campaign==
===1960s–1970s===
In June 1961, Mandela sent a letter to South African newspapers warning the government that a campaign of [[sabotage]] would be launched unless the government agreed to call for a national constitutional convention.<ref name="law2.umkc.edu">Douglas O. Linder (2010). [http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mandela/mandelaaccount.html The Nelson Mandela (Rivonia) Trial: An Account].</ref> Six months later, on 16 December 1961, Mandela led uMkhonto weSizwe in launching its campaign.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/June/Nelson-Mandela-Sentenced-to-Life-in-Prison.html |title=On This Day: Nelson Mandela Sentenced to Life in Prison |publisher=Findingdulcinea.com |access-date=29 April 2013 |archive-date=13 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413035313/http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/June/Nelson-Mandela-Sentenced-to-Life-in-Prison.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

The first target sabotaged was an [[electrical substation]]. This was followed by many more acts of sabotage over a year and a half, including attacks on government posts, machines and power facilities, and crop burning.<ref name="law2.umkc.edu"/> At the [[Rivonia Trial]], the government accused them of committing 193 acts of sabotage in total.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=73 |title=Umkhonto we Sizwe – timeline |publisher=Anc.org.za |access-date=29 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213144529/http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=73 |archive-date=13 December 2013  }}</ref> 

Opinions in the ANC were divided on the viability of launching a military campaign. For this reason, MK did not publicly associate itself with the ANC at first. Its initial attacks were "characterised by their simplicity": reflecting the Africans' lack of military training, and the fact that although many whites had military training, most had not seen service since the Second World War. The state responded with laws that allowed detention without trial and an unlimited power to ban organisations, and also by establishing military and civilian intelligence organisations.<ref name="African Military History Society 2000">The South African Military History Society, ''Military History Journal'', Vol. 11, No 5, June 2000, The other armies: A brief historical overview of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), 1961 – 1994.</ref>

{{anchor|Mayibuye}}MK began planning a campaign called "Operation O Mayibuye", or "Operation Mayibuye", from [[Liliesleaf Farm]].<ref name=grade1>{{cite web | title= Gradings: Site Reference: 9/2/228/0221| first=Clinton| last= Jackson| website=[[SAHRA]] | date=12 September 2016 | url=https://sahris.sahra.org.za/node/369306 | access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref> The South African Heritage Portal describes how they were able to meet there:
<blockquote>
"Goldreich and Harold Wolpe, a lawyer, used South African Communist Party funds to buy Liliesleaf Farm in Rivonia in 1961 for use as a secret meeting place. The secret life of the revolutionaries at Liliesleaf had a very brief flowering – the key years were 1961 to mid-1963. Arthur Goldreich lived as the tenant of Liliesleaf with his then wife Hazel and his two sons, Nicholas and Paul. They were white, the 'right colour' to belong in Rivonia, so their presence did not attract attention; this was the perfect cover.... The farm outbuildings became home to various key ANC black members who posed as 'servants' of the white Goldreich family. Here the leaders of a hoped for revolution developed a plan for guerrilla warfare (Operation Mayibuye) with its own printing press and a secret radio transmitter."<ref name=munro2021>{{cite web | title=Liliesleaf – Making a case for survival | website=The Heritage Portal | date=14 September 2021|first=Kathy |last=Munro | url=https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/liliesleaf-making-case-survival | access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref></blockquote>

In 1962, Mandela went to Algeria, Egypt, and Ghana to get international backing for the group. <ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21569372-how-conspiratorial-past-affects-present-day-good-guys-were-often-bad|title=South African history: The good guys were often bad |newspaper=The Economist|date=12 January 2013|access-date=21 January 2015}}</ref>

In December 1962, [[Looksmart Ngudle]] and [[Denis Goldberg]] helped to organise a training camp held at [[Mamre, Western Cape|Mamre]], outside Cape Town, later recognised as the first MK training centre inside South Africa; however it had to be abandoned early due to Security Police interest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldberg |first1=Denis |title=A Life for Freedom |date=2016|isbn =9780813166858 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |pages =71–26}}</ref>

A lack of familiarity with the necessities of covert military work, and the reliance on high-profile leaders like Nelson Mandela, contributed to the South African state's ability to capture the organisation's leadership at their [[Rivonia]] headquarters outside Johannesburg at the end of 1962. This effectively neutralised MK within South Africa for the next decade. However, the organisation had established itself—and its key relationship as a disciplined part of the ANC—and did not disappear.<ref name="African Military History Society 2000"/>

The early 1970s were a low point for the ANC in many ways, including in the military sphere. Attempts to rebuild uMkhonto weSizwe inside South Africa resulted in many losses, although, as noted by the Military History Journal, some members, including [[Chris Hani]], were able to remain undetected for a long period. Meanwhile, MK cadres had access to a growing range of military training opportunities in [[Algeria]], [[Egypt]] and the [[Soviet Union]] and other communist-bloc countries.{{Cn|date=June 2024}}

The [[Soweto uprising]] of 1976 led to a large exodus of young black men and women. Anxious to strike back at the apartheid regime, they crossed the border to [[Rhodesia]] to seek military training. This enabled uMkhonto weSizwe to rebuild an army — one capable of attacking prestigious targets such as the refineries at [[Sasolburg]].{{Cn|date=June 2024}}

On 24 February 1977, a bomb exploded at the [[Daveyton, Gauteng|Daveyton]] Police Station, causing only superficial damage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197702240007|title=GTD ID:197702240007|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> On 14 December, guerrillas attacked the [[Germiston, Gauteng|Germiston]] police station.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197712120006|title=GTD ID:197712120006|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> On 10 March 1978, a bomb exploded outside the offices of the Bantu Affairs building in [[Gqeberha|Port Elizabeth]], killing one civilian and wound three others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197803100014|title=GTD ID:197803100014|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> On 21 August 1978, B. Mayeza, personnel member of the [[Bureau of State Security]] was shot dead in [[Umlazi]], [[Durban]]. On 9 December 1978, an explosive blast severely damaged the Soweto Community Council building.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/09/archives/bomb-wrecks-soweto-building.html|title=Bomb Wrecks Soweto Building|work=The New York Times|date=9 December 1978 |access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197812150008|title=GTD ID;197812150008|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref><ref name="South">{{cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/list-umkhonto-wesizwe-operations|title=List of uMkhonto weSizwe Operations|work=South African History Online|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref>

On 14 January, seven members clashed with [[South African Police|SAP (South African Police)]] near [[Zeerust]], one member was captured, others escaped over [[Botswana]] border.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197901140010|title=GTD ID:197901140010|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> On 23 January, an explosion damaged the railway near New Canada, [[Gauteng]].<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197901230003|title=GTD ID;197901230003|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> The next day, a large quantity of explosives on the line were found and defused, between [[Fort Beaufort]] and [[King William's Town]], Eastern Cape.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197901240008|title=GTD ID;197901240008|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> In February, Sergeant Benjamin Letlako, a Police Special Branch member, is shot dead in [[Katlehong]].<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197902150013|title=GTD ID:197902150013|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> On 15 April, an improvised device was discovered and defused on a railway line near [[Soweto]].<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197904150005|title=GTD ID:197904150005|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> In 5 May, guerrillas opened fire in the Moroka Police Station, killing one and wounding three more policemen and three civilians.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197905030009|title=GTD ID:197905030009|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197905150003|title=GTD ID:197905150003|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> Next, an explosive device was found in a railway in [[Eastern Transvaal]].<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197906150007|title=GTD ID:197906150007|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> On 15 November, members of MK attacked the Orlando SAP Station, leaving two officers dead and other two wounded.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197911150008|title=GTD ID;197911150008|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> In the same day, the house of the Lt Magezi Ngobeni of [[Security Branch (South Africa)|SAP Special Branch]] was attacked with grenades, leaving five children wounded.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197911150009|title=GTD ID;197911150009|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> In the next month, a railway near [[Alice, South Africa|Alice]], Eastern Cape was damaged by a blast.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=197912150003|title=GTD ID:197912150003|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref>

===1980s: Bombings===
[[File:MK Attacks.JPG|thumb|300px|List of attacks attributed to MK and compiled by the [[Committee on South African War Resistance]] (COSAWR) between 1980 and 1983.]]

==== First attacks in the decade ====
On 4 January, the [[Morebeng]] SAP Station was attacked by an explosive device, leaving one officer injured.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/silverton-and-soekmekaar-trial|title=Silverton and Soekmekaar trial|work=South African History Online|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> Days later, members of the MK took 25 hostages in a bank in [[Pretoria]], the next confrontation between security forces and MK members left five dead (three attackers), and approximately 20 wounded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198001250009|title=GTD ID:198001250009|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/01/26/3-blacks-killed-in-pretoria-bank-siege/04fff594-5e8d-476a-8f67-32fb4c675e90/|title=3 Blacks Killed in Pretoria Bank Siege|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> In March, MK shot dead two officers in [[Bophutatswana]].<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198003150006|title=GTD ID:198003150006|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref>

In June 1980, MK members attacked the Booysens Police Station, leaving two officers wounded.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198004040011|title=GTD ID:198004040011|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> In 2000, the Amnesty Committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) granted amnesty for the attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/anc-attack-booysens-police-station|title=ANC attack on Booysens Police Station|work=South African History Online|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref> In the night of 31 May – 1 June, MK members attacked two [[Sasol]] oil from coal plants, leaving important material damages.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/sasol-plant-under-attack|title=SASOL plant under attack|work=South African History Online|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/06/03/guerrillas-hit-oil-plants-in-south-africa/e739ff63-e087-4a70-8dc1-192fc1a3da4e/|title=Guerrillas Hit Oil Plants in South Africa|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0603/060327.html|title=South African guerrillas strike at nation's oil lifeline|magazine=CSMonitor|access-date=2023-07-05}}</ref>

There was a lull until 21 April 1981, when the MK attacked a substation in [[Durban]] with [[limpet mine]]s. In this period, the attacks with explosives continued. On 29 October, a grenade attack was reported against the [[West Rand District Municipality|West Rand]] police station, [[Gauteng]] Province.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198010290008|title=GTD ID:198010290008|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-11-08}}</ref> The following day, the MK attacked the Consul of the House of [[Transkei]] with explosives, leaving only material damage. On 21 November MK members shot dead an officer in Chiawelo, Gauteng.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198010300019|title=GTD ID:198010300019|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GTD ID:198010290008 |url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198010290008 |access-date=2023-11-01 |work=Global Terrorism Database}}</ref> On 29 October, a grenade attack was reported against the West Rand police station, Gauteng Province. The following day, the MK attacked the Consul of the House of Transkei with explosives, leaving only material damage. In this period, attacks with explosives continued.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198105060009|title=GTD ID:198105060009|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198105150008|title=GTD ID:198105150008|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198105210013|title=GTD ID|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-08-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=GTD ID:198104210003 |url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198104210003 |access-date=2023-07-07 |work=Global Terrorism Database}}</ref>

On 27 May, the MK took credit for another attack in [[Durban]], destroying a [[South African Defence Force]] recruitment building.<ref name="South"/><ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198105060009|title=GTD ID:198105060009|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198105150008|title=GTD ID:198105150008|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-07-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198105210013|title=GTD ID:198105210013|work=Global Terrorism Database|access-date=2023-08-11}}</ref> In June of the same year, the MK took credit for the arson attack against the headquarters of the [[Federal Progressive Party]], which caused material damage, the abandonment of a limpet mine in a fuel depot in Alberton<ref name=":0" /> as well as other sabotage of railways.<ref name="South"/> On 21 July, an attack on an electrical plant in Pretoria was reported, with at least six explosions recorded in three facilities.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198107210003|title=GTD ID:198107210003|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref>

On 11 August, MK members attacked the Voortrekker military base in Pretoria with grenade launchers.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198107210003|title=GTD ID:198107210003|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref> On 1 November, MK members attacked a border post with [[Swaziland]], occupied by the [[South African Defense Forces]] (SADF), which was destroyed by a rocket and grenade attack.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198111010004|title=GTD ID:198111010004|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref> Days later, attacks against substations in Pretoria are attributed, between 12 and 14 October.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198111120015|title=GTD ID:198111120015|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198112140011|title=GTD ID:198111120015|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref>

On 7 January 1982, MK tried to attack the West Rand Board of Administration, [[Soweto]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198201070006|title=GTD ID:198201070006|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref> Explosive attacks on administrative offices followed in the following weeks.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198203200004|title=GTD ID:198203200004|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198205260002|title=GTD ID:198205260002|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref> On 28 May, MK claimed responsibility for the attack on a fuel depot and power transformer, [[Hectorspruit]], Mpumalanga Province.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198205280005|title=GTD ID:198205280005|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref> In June MK attacked railways in [[Durban]],<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198206030015|title=GTD ID:198206030015|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref> and detonated an explosive in the offices of the Presidential Council, leaving one civilian killed.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198206040007|title=GTD ID:198206040007|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref> In 28 June that MK attacked railways in [[Vryheid]] and Scheepersnek.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198206280004|title=GTD ID:198206280004|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198206280005|title=GTD ID:198206280005|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2023-11-09}}</ref>

On 5 June, the MK bombs kill one person when the explosive blasts in a lift at the offices of the presidents Council in [[Cape Town]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/05/world/bombs-kill-three-in-south-africa-and-swaziland.html|title=BOMBS KILL THREE IN SOUTH AFRICA AND SWAZILAND|work=The New York Times|date=5 June 1982 |accessdate=2024-02-16 |last1=Lelyveld |first1=Joseph }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/06/05/bomb-kills-one-in-south-african-violent-upsurge/cecda8cf-0519-41e3-addd-8999d1739ace/|title=Bomb Kills One In South African Violent Upsurge|newspaper=The Washington Post|accessdate=2024-02-16}}</ref> Weeks later,  two bombs cause extensive damage to the railway depot, pump station, stores and vehicles in Scheepersnek.<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198206280004|title=GTD ID:198206280004|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2024-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198206280005|title=GTD ID:198206280005|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2024-02-16}}</ref> A triple blasts in the [[Drakensberg]] Administration offices in [[Pietermaritzburg]].<ref name="South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198210260022|title=GTD ID:198210260022|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2024-02-16}}</ref>

On 8 November, an improvised device causes important damage at the [[Mobil]] fuel storage depot in [[Mkuze]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198211080009|title=GTD ID|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2024-02-16}}</ref> Days later, MK militants uses [[RPG-7]]s to attack a rural police station and temporary [[South African Army]] garrison at [[Tonga]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=198211130004|title=GTD ID:198211130004|work=Global Terrorism Database|accessdate=2024-02-16}}</ref>

==== 1983: Church Street bombing ====
In 1983, the [[Church Street, Pretoria bombing|Church Street bomb]] was [[detonate]]d in Pretoria near the [[South African Air Force|Air Force]] headquarters, resulting in 19 deaths and 217 injuries.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990|journal=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report|volume=2|page=36|publisher=[[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]]|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|access-date=12 August 2013|archive-date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104033712/http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== 1985: Amanzimtoti bombing ====
In the 1985 the [[Amanzimtoti bombing]] on the Natal South Coast, five civilians were killed and 40 were injured when uMkhonto weSizwe cadre [[Andrew Zondo|Andrew Sibusiso Zondo]] detonated an explosive in a rubbish bin at a shopping centre shortly before Christmas. In a submission to the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]] (TRC), the ANC stated that Zondo's act, though "understandable" as a response to a recent [[South African Defence Force]] raid in Lesotho, was not in line with ANC policy. Zondo was executed in 1986.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990|journal=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report|volume=2|page=330|publisher=[[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]]|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|access-date=12 August 2013|archive-date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104033712/http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== 1986: Durban beach-front bombing ====
In the 1986 [[Durban beach-front bombing]], a bomb was detonated in a bar, killing three civilians and injuring 69. [[Robert McBride (police officer)|Robert McBride]] received the death penalty for this bombing, which became known as the "Magoo's Bar bombing".<ref name=Durban>{{cite journal|title=The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990|journal=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report|volume=2|page=333|publisher=[[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]]|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|quote=The consequence in these cases, such as the magoo's bar and the durban esplanade bombings, were gross violations of human rights in that they resulted in injuries to and the deaths of civilians.|access-date=12 August 2013|archive-date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104033712/http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> McBride received amnesty and became a senior police officer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2014-02-28-mcbride-appointed-as-head-of-ipid|title=McBride Appointed as Head of IPID|date=28 February 2014 }}</ref>

==== 1987: Johannesburg bombings ====
In 1987, an explosion outside a [[Johannesburg Magistrate's Court bombing|Johannesburg court]] killed three [[South African Police|police]] officers and injured a further 15; a court in Newcastle had been attacked in a similar way the previous year, injuring 24. Also in 1987, a bomb exploded at a military command centre in Johannesburg, killing one person and injuring 68 personnel.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

==== Other bombings ====
The armed struggle continued with attacks on a series of soft targets, including a bank in [[Roodepoort]] in 1988, in which four civilians were killed and 18 injured. Also in 1988, a bomb outside a [[magistrate's court]] killed three. At the Ellis Park rugby stadium in Johannesburg, a [[car bomb]] killed two and injured 37 civilians. A multitude<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2651 |title=AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS Appendix Four: List of MK Operations |access-date=18 July 2014 |archive-date=8 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008101121/http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=2651 |url-status=dead }}</ref> of bombs at restaurants and fast food outlets, including [[Wimpy (restaurant)|Wimpy Bar]]s,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/24/world/23-hurt-in-south-african-blast.html |title=23 Hurt in South African Blast  |newspaper=New York Times |date=24 August 1988 |access-date=18 July 2014}}</ref> and supermarkets occurred during the late 1980s, killing and wounding many people. Wimpy were specifically targeted because of their perceived rigid enforcement of many apartheid laws, including excluding non-whites from their restaurants.

=== 1985–1987: Landmine campaign ===
From 1985 to 1987, there also was a campaign to place [[anti-tank mine]]s on rural roads in what was then the [[Northern Transvaal]]. This tactic was abandoned due to the high rate of civilian casualties—especially among black labourers. The ANC estimated that there were 30 landmine explosions resulting in 23 deaths, while the government submitted a figure of 57 explosions resulting in 25 deaths.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990|journal=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report|volume=2|page=333|publisher=[[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]]|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|access-date=12 August 2013|archive-date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104033712/http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Findings by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ===
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the use of [[torture]] by uMkhonto weSizwe was "routine", as were executions "without due process" at ANC detention camps. This was particularly true in the period of 1979–1989, although torture was not official ANC policy.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990|journal=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report|volume=2|page=366|publisher=[[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]]|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|quote=The commission finds that 'suspected agents' were routinely subjected to severe torture and other forms of severe ill-treatment and that there were cases where such individuals were charged and convicted by tribunals without proper attention to due process being afforded them, sentenced to death and executed...With regard to allegations of torture, the commission finds that, although it was not anc policy to use torture, the security department of the anc routinely used torture to extract information and confessions from those being held in camps, particularly in the period 1979–89.|access-date=12 August 2013|archive-date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104033712/http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> It called the Durban bombing a "gross violation of human rights".<ref name=Durban/>

The TRC also noted in its report that although "ANC had, in the course of the conflict, contravened the Geneva Protocols and was responsible for the commission of gross human rights violations…of the three main parties to the [South African] conflict, only the ANC committed itself to observing the tenets of the Geneva Protocols and, in the main, conducting the armed struggle in accordance within the international humanitarian law".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Findings and Recommendations – Holding the ANC Accountable|journal=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report|volume=2|page=333|publisher=[[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]]|url=http://www.info.gov.za/otherdocs/2003/trc/5_3.pdf|access-date=17 December 2013|archive-date=15 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515235447/http://www.info.gov.za/otherdocs/2003/trc/5_3.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Foreign military activities==
===Angola===
In January 1969, the ANC declared its solidarity with the [[People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola]] (MPLA) and pursued close military relations with that party, then involved in the [[Angolan War of Independence]].<ref name="Dreyer">{{cite book|title=Namibia and Southern Africa: Regional Dynamics of Decolonization, 1945–90|last=Dreyer|first=Ronald|location=London|publisher=Kegan Paul International|year=1994|isbn=978-0710304711|pages=59–60}}</ref> Both movements were drawn into a practical and ideological friendship because of their shared links with the Soviet Union through the communist parties of their respective nations.<ref name="Dreyer"/> At the First International Conference of Solidarity with the Fighting People of Southern Africa and the Portuguese Colonies, organised by the [[Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation]] and the [[World Peace Council]], the MPLA and ANC entered into a formal military alliance together with the [[South West African People's Organisation]] (SWAPO), the [[Zimbabwe African People's Union]] (ZAPU), and the [[African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde]] (PAIGC).<ref name="Dreyer"/> This became known as the Khartoum alliance.<ref name="Dreyer"/>

The ANC-MPLA alliance assumed new significance in the mid-1970s with Angolan independence.<ref name="Dreyer"/> After consolidating power with Cuban support, the MPLA granted MK permission to establish training facilities in Angola.<ref name="George">{{cite book |last=George |first=Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/cubaninterventio00geor |title=The Cuban intervention in Angola |publisher=Frank Cass Publishers |year=2005 |isbn=978-0415647106 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/cubaninterventio00geor/page/n137 123] |url-access=limited }}{{dead link|date=May 2024}}</ref> The primary MK base in Angola was located at Novo Catengue, where intakes of up to 500 recruits were trained by Cuban military advisers.<ref name="George"/> Between 1976 and 1979, over 1,000 MK guerrillas were trained at Novo Catengue.<ref name="George"/> In recognition of Cuba's role in supervising the training programme, the third MK intake to muster out was named the "Moncada Detachment".<ref name="George"/> There were also a number of smaller MK training camps established throughout Angola, namely at Quibaxe.<ref name="George"/> Aside from Cuba, the Soviet Union also contributed some instructors at the request of [[Oliver Tambo]]; between 1976 and 1991, 200 Soviet military personnel served at various MK camps in Angola as training staff.<ref name=Hot>{{cite book|last=Shubin|first=Vladimir Gennadyevich|title=The Hot "Cold War": The USSR in Southern Africa|year=2008|pages=92–93, 249–253|publisher=Pluto Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-7453-2472-2 }}</ref>

The ANC and MK presence in Angola re-ignited its alliance with SWAPO and its own armed wing, the [[People's Liberation Army of Namibia]] (PLAN).<ref name="Dreyer"/> PLAN and MK frequently shared facilities in Angola and coordinated the transportation of supplies and war materiel.<ref name="Dreyer"/>

In 1984, there was a series of mutinies in MK's Angolan camps that were suppressed by the ''Mbokodo'', the ANC's internal security service.<ref name="Proxy">{{cite book|title=My Enemy's Enemy: Proxy Warfare in International Politics|last=Hughes|first=Geraint|year=2014|location=Brighton|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1845196271|pages=65–79}}</ref> During this time, the ANC detained and executed a number of MK dissidents suspected of subversion or disloyalty.<ref name="Proxy"/> In one case mutineers killed ANC members and after the mutiny was suppressed seven mutineers were executed (with further executions only halted after the personal intervention of [[Oliver Tambo]]).<ref name=Mutiny>{{cite journal|last=Callinicos|first=Luli|title=Oliver Tambo and the Dilemma of the Camp Mutinies in Angola in the Eighties|date=2012|journal=South African Historical Journal|volume=64|issue=3|pages=587–621|doi=10.1080/02582473.2012.675813|s2cid=144909892}}</ref>

MK's presence in Angola inevitably embroiled it in the [[Angolan Civil War]]. In August 1983, an MK battalion was deployed against the [[National Union for the Total Independence of Angola]] (UNITA) insurgents near Kibashe.<ref name=Hot/> In 1986, three battalions of newly trained MK recruits were deployed to guard FAPLA rear areas during [[Operation Alpha Centauri]].<ref name=Mobility>{{cite book | last1=Steenkamp | first1=Willem | last2=Helmoed-Römer | first2=Heitman | title=Mobility Conquers: The Story Of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group 1978–2005 | date=September 2016 | page=706 | publisher=Helion & Company | location=Solihull | isbn=978-1-911096-52-8}}</ref> MK also participated in the [[Battle of Cuito Cuanavale]], fighting against a joint South African and UNITA expeditionary force during [[Operation Hooper]] and [[Operation Packer]].<ref name=Diplomacy>{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Scott|title=The Diplomacy of Liberation: The Foreign Relations of the ANC Since 1960|year=1995|pages=200–202|publisher=Tauris Academic Studies|location=London|isbn=978-1850439936}}</ref> At least 100 MK cadres were killed during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, making that engagement of enormous symbolic importance, as it was the largest single loss of life in MK's history.<ref name=Diplomacy/> Furthermore, MK's prestige inside South Africa was greatly enhanced by its participation in a conventional battle, and apparent willingness to directly confront a South African military force.<ref name=Diplomacy/>

===Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)===
During the [[Rhodesian Bush War]], MK was closely allied with the [[Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army]] (ZIPRA), the armed wing of ZAPU.<ref name=Diplomacy/> MK became interested in using ZIPRA's infiltration routes to smuggle supplies to its fighters in South Africa, and organised a joint expedition with the latter in August 1967.<ref name=Diplomacy/> A combined MK-ZIPRA force was largely eliminated by the [[Rhodesian Security Forces]] during [[Operation Nickel]], and the survivors driven back across the border into [[Botswana]] and [[Zambia]].<ref name=Diplomacy/> Historian Rocky Williams assesses that MK and ZIPRA "fought well under difficult conditions" and that although the incursion failed, the Rhodesian authorities were forced to rely on clandestine military assistance from South Africa to counter them.<ref name="African Military History Society 2000"/>

Concerning MK's alliance with ZIPRA, Oliver Tambo stated: "We have had close political relations with ZAPU, and these developed into relations at the military level, until we were in a position to fight together. This close alliance is the first of its kind one can recall in the liberation movement. In no previous instance has there actually been fighting by freedom fighters drawn from different territories."<ref name=Diplomacy/>

==Equipment==
{{see also|List of military equipment used by UMkhonto we Sizwe}}

MK received nearly all its military equipment from the Soviet Union, although other [[COMECON]] member states such as [[East Germany]] which were sympathetic to the ANC's cause also provided the movement with small quantities of  materiel.<ref name=Kolasa>{{cite book|last=Kolasa|first=Thomas Stanley|title=The South African Communist Party: Adapting to Thrive in a Post-Communist Age|date=2016|pages=56–58|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson|isbn=978-0786478040}}</ref> The SACP was able to use its political contacts in the Soviet government to obtain these weapons, and was primarily responsible for MK's logistics from the beginning of the armed struggle.<ref name=Kolasa/> Soviet ordnance played a crucial role in the MK's sabotage campaign and in guerrilla engagements with the South African security forces.<ref name=Kolasa/> Military equipment was usually smuggled into South Africa from neighbouring states where the ANC was operating in exile.<ref name=Douek>{{cite book|last=Douek|first=Daniel|title=Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in South Africa|date=1997|pages=51, 105–106, 268|publisher=Hurst & Company|location=London|isbn=978-1849048804}}</ref> Once inside the country, they were cached in major urban centers where the ANC enjoyed a large political following.<ref name=Douek/> MK established enormous arms depots in Botswana, Mozambique, and Swaziland to facilitate these operations, and also had smaller quantities of weapons cached in Angola, Zambia, and Tanzania.<ref name=Douek/> 

Soviet arms deliveries to MK, valued collectively at 36 million rubles, began in 1963 and ceased in 1990.<ref name=Hot/> Despite the cessation of Soviet military aid, MK had still amassed enough conventional weapons inside South Africa to mount an effective urban guerrilla campaign as needed by 1991.<ref name=Douek/> The movement's preexisting arsenal was deemed sufficient to continue operations against the South African state for the foreseeable future in the event that ongoing negotiations to dismantle the apartheid system failed.<ref name=Douek/> MK cadres were primarily armed with Soviet [[AK-47]] assault rifles and [[SKS]] carbines.<ref name=Hot/> By the late 1980s, it was beginning to supplement both these weapon types with the slightly more modern [[AKM]] assault rifle firing the same 7.62×39mm cartridge.<ref name=Douek/> MK also received over 6,000 handguns of various types, primarily derivatives of the [[TT pistol|TT-33 pistol]].<ref name=Hot/><ref name=FDP>{{cite book|last1=Luthuli|first1=Daluxolo|last2=Bopela|first2=Thula|title=Umkhonto We Siswe: Fighting for a Divided People|date=2005|pages=60, 113|publisher=Galago Publishing Company|location=Alberton|isbn=978-1919854168}}</ref>

MK possessed some heavy weapons, namely 90 man-portable, single-tube Grad-P rocket launchers.<ref name=Hot/> The Soviet Union also supplied MK with over 40 [[9K32 Strela-2]] surface-to-air missile launchers and 60 [[9M14 Malyutka]] anti-tank missile systems.<ref name=Hot/>

After MK was disbanded, the movement passed its logistical records to the newly integrated [[South African National Defence Force]] (SANDF) to ensure that the stored equipment was properly inventoried and disposed of.<ref name=Douek/>

==In popular culture==
*In 1984, musician [[Prince Far I]]'s album ''[[Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation)]]'' was released (posthumously) in an act of solidarity with the uMkhonto weSizwe.
*In 1987, a benefit [[hardcore punk|hardcore]] compilation album ''Viva uMkhonto!'' was released on the Dutch label Konkurrel. It featured [[Scream (band)|Scream]], Challenger Crew, Morzelpronk, Social Unrest, [[The Ex (band)|The Ex]], Depraved, [[Victims Family]], B.G.K., [[Rhythm Pigs]], Everything Falls Apart, Kafka Prosess, S.C.A.*, and 76% Uncertain.
*Zimbabwean-born African-American author and filmmaker [[M. K. Asante|M. K. Asante Jr.]] embraced the initials M. K. after uMkhonto weSizwe.
*[[Dave Matthews Band]] song "#36" is dedicated to [[Chris Hani]], the assassinated chief of staff of the uMkhonto weSizwe and the leader of the [[South African Communist Party]], and includes the refrain: "Hani, Hani, won't you dance with me?"

==Notable members==
In addition to co-founder [[Nelson Mandela]],<ref name=mandela>[http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/rivonia.html Statement of Nelson Mandela at Rivonia trial] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221095404/http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/rivonia.html |date=21 February 2009 }}</ref> notable members include:
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Tatamkhulu Afrika]]
* [[Sipho Binda]]
* [[Anton Fransch]]
* [[Joe Gqabi]]
* [[Denis Goldberg]]
* [[Harry Gwala]]
* [[Chris Hani]]
* [[Samuel Hlongwane]]
* [[Ronnie Kasrils]]
* [[Moses Kotane]] 
* [[Tryphina Mboxela Jokweni]]
* [[Lennox Lagu]]
* [[Moses Mabhida]]
* [[Ashley Kriel]]
* [[Robert McBride (police officer)|Robert McBride]]<!---Alphabetised as "Mac".-->
* [[Mac Maharaj]]
* [[Dikgope Madi]]
* [[Solomon Mahlangu]]
* [[Isaac Lesiba Maphotho]]
* [[Rudzani Maphwanya]]
* [[Jerry Masisi]]
* [[Vusumuzi Masondo]]
* [[Davidson Masuku]]
* [[Lawrence Mbatha]]
* [[Govan Mbeki]]
* [[Thabo Mbeki]]
* [[Duma Mdutyana]] 
* [[Raymond Mhlaba]]
* [[Wilton Mkwayi]]
* [[Joe Modise]]
* [[Thandi Modise]]
* [[Thabiso Mokhosi]]
* [[Lambert Moloi]]
* [[Alex Moumbaris]]
* [[Fabian Msimang]]
* [[Mavuso Msimang]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Mavuso Walter Msimang | website=South African History Online | url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/mavuso-walter-msimang | access-date=5 July 2021}}</ref>
* [[Refiloe Johannes Mudimu]]
* [[Phila Portia Ndwandwe]]
* [[Godfrey Ngwenya]]
* [[Wilson Nqose]]
* [[Siphiwe Nyanda]]
* [[Vejaynand Ramlakan]]
* [[Tom Sebina]]
* [[Aubrey Sedibe]]
* [[Solly Shoke]]
* [[Walter Sisulu]]
* [[Joe Slovo]]
* [[Marion Sparg]]
* [[Oliver Tambo]]
* [[Lindile Yam]]
* [[Tony Yengeni]]
* [[Andrew Zondo]]
* [[Jacob Zuma]]
{{div col end}}

==Number of deaths==
South African police statistics indicate that, in the period 1976 to 1986, approximately 130 people were killed by guerrillas. Of those killed, about thirty were members of various security forces and one hundred were civilians. Of the civilians, 40 were white and 60 black.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Liberation Movements from 1960 to 1990|journal=Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report|volume=2|page=327|publisher=[[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]]|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|access-date=12 August 2013|archive-date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104033712/http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%202.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

About eleven ANC members were killed in cross-border raids by [[South African Defence Force|the SADF]].<ref>https://v1.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/apartheid-repression/cross-border-raids.htm {{dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref>

== Awards ==
The following medals and awards, some with post-nominal titles, were retrospectively defined and awarded to members of MK:
* {{MilAward Desc|CLS}}
* {{MilAward Desc|DMG}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MMS}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MMB}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MKSMG}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MKSMS}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MKSMB}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MKSASM}}
* {{MilAward Desc|SBG}}
* {{MilAward Desc|SBS}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MKOPSA}}

==See also==
*[[Day of Reconciliation]]
*[[Internal resistance to apartheid]]
*[[South African Border War]]
*[[Military history of South Africa]]
*[[Necklacing]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite journal |url=https://academic.oup.com/past/article/245/1/221/5580560 |access-date=8 May 2023 |title=  The Turn to Sabotage by The Congress Movement in South Africa |first1=Simon |last1=Stevens|journal=Past & Present|issue=245|date=November 2019|pages=221–255|publication-date=3 October 2019|doi=10.1093/pastj/gtz030|hdl=1814/75043|hdl-access=free}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Shubin |first=Vladimir |date=1 May 2007 |title=Unsung Heroes: The Soviet Military and the Liberation of Southern Africa |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14682740701284157 |journal=Cold War History |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=251–262 |doi=10.1080/14682740701284157 |s2cid=154318774 |issn=1468-2745|access-date=8 May 2023}}
* {{Cite journal |journal=South African Military History Society - Journal|title=The other armies: A brief historical overview of Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK), 1961-1994 |url=http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol115rw.html |access-date=8 May 2023|volume=11|number=5 |first1= Rocky | last1=Williams |author-link1=Rocky Williams}}
* {{Cite web |title=Moscow and ANC: Three Decades of Co-operation and Beyond |url=https://scnc.ukzn.ac.za/doc/AAmwebsite/Papers.htm |access-date=8 May 2023 |website=scnc.ukzn.ac.za| editor-last1=Shubin|editor-first1=Vladimir}}
*Rocky Williams  Articles in the ''Journal of Security Sector Management'' and others
** {{cite journal|last1=Williams|first1=Rocky|title=Demobilisation and Reintegration: The South African Experience|journal=Journal of Security Sector Management|volume=3|issue=2|year=2005|pages=531–567|url=https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/jssm/jssm_3_2/jssm_3_2_002.pdf}}
** {{cite journal|last1=Williams|first1=R.|year=1998|title=Towards the creation of an African civil-military relations tradition|journal=African Journal of Political Science|volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=20–41|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23489912|jstor=23489912}}
** {{cite journal|last1=Williams|first1=R. |year=2005|title=Human Security and the Transformation of the South African National Security Environment from 1990–2004: Challenges and Limitations|journal=Journal of Security Sector Management|pages=1–18|url=https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/jssm/jssm_3_2/jssm_3_2_004.pdf}}
** {{cite web|editor-last1=Ehrhart |editor-first1=Hans-Georg |editor-first2=Albrecht |editor-last2=Schnabel |title=Security sector reform and post-conflict peacebuilding |location=Tokyo |publisher=United Nations University Press|year=2005 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237350205}}
*{{cite web|website=South African History Online|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/umkhonto-wesizwe-mk|title=uMkhonto weSizwe (MK)|date=20 March 2011}}
* {{cite journal| url=http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=B96533F0-E7CE-4CF3-BD4C-409A8EE64951 |title=The Question of Violence in Contemporary African Political Thought|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017030412/http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5&id=B96533F0-E7CE-4CF3-BD4C-409A8EE64951 |archive-date=17 October 2015|first1=Kwasi|last1=Wiredu|journal=PRAXIS International: A Philosophical Journal |date=October 1986|volume=6|number=3 |via=[Central and Eastern European Online Library http://www.ceeol.com] }}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150220033111/http://anc.org.za/themes.php?t=Umkhonto%20we%20Sizwe Collection of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) documents] – from anc.org, timeline and manifesto.
{{African National Congress|state=expanded}}
{{Political history of South Africa}}
{{Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Umkhonto We Sizwe}}
[[Category:uMkhonto we Sizwe|*]]
[[Category:1961 establishments in South Africa]]
[[Category:Anti-apartheid organisations]]
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[[Category:History of the African National Congress]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1961]]
[[Category:Socialism in South Africa]]
[[Category:Military wings of socialist parties]]
[[Category:National liberation armies]]
[[Category:National liberation movements in Africa]]
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[[Category:Rebellions in Africa]]
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